Meta adds a new “Calls” tab to Messenger

Meta is promoting audio and video calling on its Messenger app to make communication even easier.

The Meta Messenger app has become an incredibly popular option for free voice or video calls. Today, design changes will make the call button (slightly) easier to find and access. Meta did decide to add a tab dedicated to audio and video calls to the function bar at the bottom of the app.

Meta promotes audio and video calls in its Messenger app

So this new tab will appear next to Chats, Stories, and Contacts and will open the user’s contact list, as well as separate buttons to initiate a voice or video call. It’s a pretty subtle change in the end, but should make Messenger feel more like an instant messaging app like WhatsApp. Prior to this change, users had to open a separate chat with their loved one in order to be able to call them. This new feature allows users to call loved ones directly and can help introduce calling features to those who are less familiar with them.

To further facilitate contact

Messenger audio and video calls have increased by 40% since the start of 2020, according to Meta. A few months ago, the company expanded the features available for its encrypted messaging service by adding reactions, stickers, and message-specific replies and forwards. Meta’s goal is to offer end-to-end encryption by default for Facebook and Instagram in 2023. The platform has also added a range of augmented reality effects to its video calls, allowing users to play with filters, masks, and other animations.

Messenger has many competitors in the instant messaging app market, including Google Voice, Viber, Signal, and WhatsApp, which Meta acquired in 2014. Of the most important in this segment, with FaceTime not to require a phone number to work.